CHICAGO — Attending her first Democratic National Convention, Cuyahoga County U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown turned heads when she embraced her former opponent during a gathering of state delegates ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the first woman of color to accept a major party's nomination for president.
"Just the thought of it is both inspirational and aspirational," Brown said of Harris' nomination. "I mean, just to see how her journey has come — a daughter of immigrants, a woman who has just risen through the ranks because of her hard work and experience."
To illustrate how she feels about this election, Brown did something that grabbed the attention of many in the room and online during a breakfast with the Ohio delegation in Chicago. Near the end of her remarks, she thanked her former "fierce competitor": former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner.
Brown twice bested Turner for the Democratic nomination in Ohio's 11th Congressional District. The campaigns were extremely bitter, characterized by sharp ideological differences and insults from both sides.
"We had a hotly contested race. No one can argue that," Brown told 3News. "We might not agree on everything, but I think we can recognize the reality we need to get Harris elected, and it is important that we put our differences aside and unite and unite and unite."
Brown believes Ohio is still in play this November, despite Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump winning the state by decisive margins in both 2016 and 2020. She's excited to see Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, another Midwesterner, on the ticket up against Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
"Listen, I am confident, but cautiously confident," she admitted. "Cautiously optimistic."
She can’t help but think back to 2016, when many Democrats were confident Hillary Clinton would beat Trump. That's why she plans to do all she can to get everyone involved in this election.
"That means voting from the presidency all the way to the precinct. It doesn't matter if we get a president and we don't have a Senate and a House to assist to move this country forward," she said. "This isn't going to be an easy win, so we have to make it too big to rig."